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January 23, 2009

Baltimore's inflation outpaces the country's

If those Black Friday sales in November didn’t seem as sweet as you expected, here’s proof: Government data show consumer prices were much higher in Baltimore-Washington that month, compared with November 2007, than in the nation as a whole.

Clothing, in particular, showed few signs of markdowns. National apparel prices were flat compared with the previous November, suggesting that retailers were eager to move the merchandise with low prices. But in the Baltimore-Washington region apparel prices soared 6.3 percent over the same period.

Possible credit goes to this region’s relatively healthy economy. It may not feel like a boomtown, but according to the latest figures neither Maryland nor the District of Columbia nor Virginia is losing jobs the way the nation as a whole is.

With higher demand, stores theoretically wouldn’t need to offer as many bargains to clear the market.

Overall, consumer prices for Baltimore-Washington were up 2.5 percent from November to November, more than twice as much as for the country. Fuel and utilities helped regional inflation outpace that of the nation.

So did prices for health care, one of Baltimore’s specialties. Consumer medical costs rose by 4.2 percent from November to November for Baltimore-Washington but only 2.7 percent for the country.

Posted by Jay Hancock at 9:57 AM | | Comments (0)
        

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About Jay Hancock
Jay Hancock has been a financial columnist for The Baltimore Sun since 2001. He has also been The Baltimore Sun's diplomatic correspondent in Washington and its chief economics writer. Before moving to Baltimore in 1994 he worked for The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk and The Daily Press of Newport News.

His columns appear Tuesdays and Sundays.
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